The decision was an easy one for the Muskegon High School junior power forward, who said MSU has been a dream school since he was little.

"When I first saw Shannon Brown play for them, I knew I just wanted to go there," said Davis, who chose MSU over Iowa State, Stony Brook, Memphis and Northern Illinois. "It was how he played and coach Izzo and basically just the whole college."

Davis is the first in-state player to commit to Izzo since Denzel Valentine and Matt Costello were part of MSU's 2012 recruiting class. Davis is also the first major basketball recruit from the Muskegon area since Drew Naymick committed to Izzo and MSU in 2003.

The 6-foot-9 Davis, who is the first piece in the Spartans' 2015 recruiting class, is rated a four-star prospect by ESPN and three stars by Rivals.com. His stock has risen throughout the last year and Davis credits it to the many hours he’s spent in the gym.

“He’s gotten better and he’s worked fearlessly over the summer,” Muskegon coach Keith Guy said. “He had a great AAU season and then his workouts in the fall got much better. He put on some weight and he just started to come into his own.”

In Davis, Guy said the Spartans are getting a strong defender in the paint that has a 7-foot-1 wingspan. Davis averaged four blocks in his debut varsity season last year.

"He definitely is a rim protector with great timing and great hands," Guy said. "He's really coordinated. A lot of times you see a 6-9, 16-year old and they're not as coordinated and they can't run. But he can run and jump really, really well. That's one of his main assets."

Davis has been told by the MSU coaching staff that they envision him playing a role similar to current Spartan center Adreian Payne.

"They said I'm going to be the next Adreian Payne," Davis said. "When I watch them play I picture me being him."

Brian Calloway writes for the Lansing State Journal.

Note: Michigan State defensive back Darqueze Dennard was named a first-team Sporting News All-American today. He won the Thorpe Award on Thursday as college football's top defensive back.